This West Coast-Sydney rivalry was getting ridiculous!

So much so that when football aficionados reflect on the 2005 and 2006 seasons they will undoubtedly be perplexed by the amazing symmetry between the 2005 triumph of the Swans and the 2006 premiership of the Eagles.

Aside from the epic battles which had emerged between those two clubs, the 2006 season was a mirror image of that which preceded it.

Singularly, there is nothing remarkable about the following events, but look at them collectively and it truly is an amazing string of occurrences.

• In 2005 the West Coast Eagles were denied the McLelland Trophy as minor premiers when beaten by Adelaide in the last qualifying round of the season. Twelve months later the Eagles secured that mantle by beating Richmond in the last game.
• In 2005 West Coast champion Ben Cousins won the Brownlow medal. In 2006 it was claimed by Sydney star Adam Goodes.
• The 2005 finals series started with West Coast winning a stirring qualifying final by four points at Subiaco Oval against the Swans. The 2006 finals series started with Sydney winning a remarkable match by one point at the same venue.
• In 2005 Sydney lost its first final, beat Geelong in a thriller at the SCG and then had to overcome St Kilda at the MCG in the preliminary final to book its place. The reverse applied in 2006, with West Coast recovering to beat the Western Bulldogs in a semi-final before coming from behind to beat Adelaide in Adelaide to gain a grand final berth.
• The total points scored by the two teams in the 2006 grand final were the absolute reverse of the scores in the qualifying final at Subiaco Oval a fortnight earlier. In the first of those matches Sydney won by 85 points to 84 and in the grand final, the opposite occurred.  

Consider, also, that the 2006 grand final was the fifth game in a mind-blowing run of tight matches between these two clubs and the legend of this rivalry will be forever revered.

To have a grand total of just 12 points deciding those five matches was astonishing. Throw in the fact that two of the games were grand finals and four of them are finals and the significance of the clashes rose to extraordinary levels.

Yes, the 2006 Grand Final triumph was the remarkable climax to an incredible season.

It was a season which saw some incredible outcomes. In round 10 at Skilled Stadium only the most faithful could have believed that West Coast could claw back against Geelong when trailing by 54 points mid-way through the third quarter. They did!

In the most amazing comeback in club history, the Eagles scored a miraculous two-point victory.

A week later, against Carlton at Subiaco Oval, the players set themselves another stern test, spotting the Blues a 44-point advantage in the third term before again storming home to win by 10 points.

But that was nothing! There was still plenty of excitement to come in this stunning season.

When the club scored an emphatic 82-point victory over Adelaide in round 17 it replaced the Crows as the premiership favourite, that position fortified a week later with another strong win against St Kilda at Telstra Dome.

The only hiccup in the run to the finals was in the second local derby as Fremantle won by 57 points. But the Eagles surged again in dealing with Richmond to finish the home and away season on top as minor premiers.

Then came the qualifying final defeat by Sydney, a return to form against the Western Bulldogs in a semi-final and finally another outstanding victory, against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, in the preliminary final.

Against the Crows in Adelaide the Eagles trailed by 22 points at half-time  and had only scored two goals to that stage – but this resilient group produced an irresistible second half to win by 10 points and advance to the its fifth Grand Final.

Andrew Embley was superb in this game, but was even better the following week, winning the Norm Smith Medal as best afield in the premiership decider.